The Municipal Theatre in Hamburg, 1930. It begins with a Tannhäuser performance and ends with the premiere of The Tales of Hoffmann. In between a young ingénue cast in her first big role, the Hoffmann rehearsals, the theatre director and his stage director exchanging cynicisms, a budding love affair. Gründgens at his most repulsive, trying to woo both lovers. And a hair-raising finale. Add to this some snappy dialogue and "pre-code" scenes that make you sit up and stare. I wrote the subs.
Directed by Carl Froelich
Writing credits: Walter Reisch, Walter Supper
Cinematography by Reimar Kuntze and Fritz Arno Wagner
Art Direction by Franz Schroedter
Cast
Alexa Engström... Floriane Bach
Gustav Fröhlich... Richard Faber
Gustaf Gründgens... Otto van Lingen
Gertrud Arnold... Frau van Lingen
Marianne Fröhlich... Ilse van Lingen
Hans Peppler... Theaterdirektor
Julius Falkenstein... Kassierer Flötenthal
Arthur Kistenmacher... Co-Repetitor
Paul Mederow... Regisseur Monk
Aenne Goerling... Anna Riehl
Ilse Nast... Berta Kranz
the singers
Jarmila Novotna... Die Primadonna (Olympia)
Nikolaus...Irmgard Gross
Tannhäuser...Hendrik Appels
Landgraf von Thürigen...Paul Rehkopf
Wolfram von Eschenbach...Gerhard Vöge
Bitolf, Kammersänger...Werner Engels
conductor: Bruno Seidler-Winkler
Orchestra of the Städtische Oper Berlin
Chorus of the Staatsoper Berlin, Berliner Domchor